New Energy Economy #11: Terawatt edition

Epochal milestone: BNEF reports that after decades of growth, 1 terawatt of solar and wind have been installed worldwide. The second terawatt will take five years, and cost half as much.

More large banks and insurers abandon coal. Southern renewables driven by economics, not politics. Uncertainty in Chinese energy markets, new fusion reactors tantalize, and cleanliness (of power) is next to godliness, as 5.5k UK churches switch to renewables.

With a forecast horizon set for the first time at 2050, NEO 2018’s big surprise is that wind, solar and batteries are set to become far more deeply entrenched in the generation mix of almost every country.

One of Europe’s largest banks, Lloyds Banking Group, has announced this week new policies which moves to solidify its support for the transition to a low-carbon economy by ceasing new funding for coal-fired power stations or thermal coal mines.

Munich Re, one of the world’s largest reinsurance companies, announced on August 5 that it will limit its investments in the stocks and bonds of companies that derive more than 30% of their business from burning coal. In doing so, it is joining with several other major insurers who have adopted similar policies, including Axa, Allianz, and Zurich.

China is likely to see complicated power supply conditions this summer, with prominent increases in use of electricity, coal and natural gas, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said Tuesday.

Lockheed Martin has filed a patent for a revolutionary “Compact Fusion Reactor.” If it succeeds where past fusion reactor plans have failed, the technology portends a paradigm shift for humanity on the scale of steam power and the internal combustion engine.